Cute enough to begin with, what with the hand-holding and the sleepy eyes and the bellies and all….but then after they drift apart, when they later drift back together and the one otter literally reeeeeaaaaches out his little hand for the other otter’s hand, and grasps it — WELL, that just slays me dead!

Sooo cute. Love how early on in the vid the dark headed otter looks up as if to wonder where the kids are and if they’re alright, then sees they are and keeps relaxing. And the reach out for a paw gesture = world peace potential.

haha.. the video was cute.. but I think the women saying “AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW”, “They’re holding hands”, “Isn’t that sweet?”, “Awwwwww!” was actually quite weird. haha.. i don’t think i’ve heard that many women making all those noises at the same time lol

as I watch it again…for the 15th time now…It makes me think of this elderly couple I saw walking the other day….holding hands. they had to have been close to ninety..made me tear up…I hope when I am that old I still have (and want) to hold someone’s hand…

I got scooped again! Of all the things that sea otters do, hand holding is one of the most adorable! I’m planning a trip up to Vancouver Aquarium where this video was shot.
If anyone loves otters as much as I do, I hope you’ll visit my CuteOtters.com site!

If all the peeps who check in at CO all held somebody’s hand and channeled otters- we could seriously achieve world peace. By Easters. Oh, and I’m getting bunnies! For easters! And before everyone esplodes about how that is a bad idea, we found them at a bunny shelter. whoda thunk there was something as nice as Bunny shelters?

The absolutest cutest thing I have ever seen in my sordid life! And what makes it even sweeter is the chorus of Awwwwwwws in the background! (Cuz I know if I had been there, I’d have been the loudest!).

I am watching this (over and over) at work. It’s basically on my screen as eye candy while I’m on the phone, etc. The point is that I haven’t been able to play it yet with the sound on! It’s going to be a couple of hours before I can.

This completely made my entire day. I had a rough morning, lots of stress and meltdowns and weepy-ness. But watching this made me think of my honey, and how much I love him, and how glad I am that we humans aren’t the only ones who express love and trust to each other. I can’t wait to show this to my honey when he gets home. (not to mention that the little otter finger-keeses just SLAYED me.)

Now that is just *sweet*! I think it’s a mother and child, not two adult otters – but that’s even sweeter, like, “Okay, now, hold Mommy’s hand so you don’t get lost…”

I had a very dear friend – gone more than ten years, now – who “otterly” adored otters. I wish I could show this to her. But maybe she *is* one of those otters – I know that she wanted to come back as one (Margie, is that you?).

My husband and I saw otters doing this at the aquarium in Vancouver and thought it was the cutest thing ever. We’ve often said, “remember when we saw the otters…?” How wonderful to see these two little critters!

Long time lurker, first time poster! This is the first time i’ve ever gone “oh my gaaaaawd! that is SOOOOO preeecioussss!” outloud, so anerable. I predict that this will take the cute subculture of the net by STORM! HUZZAH OTTERS! I PROCLAIM MARCH 27TH AWESOME OTTER DAY! :D

Otters in lurve! Can’t you feel the love? Especially when he re-grabs the other otters hand. He even wiggled his tail to catch up to the one that drifted away JUST for that re-grab moment. Otters. I love you so much.

After this dose of otter sweetness, I had to go poke around CuteOtters.com. They have received and posted photos of this adorable duo several times, but the effect of the re-grab is captured only through video. Anerable!!!

Apparently, despite her name, Kat doesnt have any house pets or she would know that animals have emotions. That’s the Victorian Era talkin’ there.

This has to win a prize or something. I would say parent and pup too. This looks like the Atlanta Aquarium, but they weren’t doing that when I went there. Course the river otters weren’t on display at the time, just the sea otters and I think these are the river ones from the size. Could be wrong tho.

I feel such a connection with these creatures and this dang video just re-inforces it!

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!! That is THE sweetest thing I’ve EVER SEEN!!!!

I thought for a moment when they broke apart that they were going to stay like that… but then the dark one came back to take the lighter one’s paw again! Purposefully doing it! And then what looked like a brief snuggle/nudge and a paw kiss….. KAWAIII!!!!

I believe that is Oz and his mom from the Oregon Zoo in Portland. If it is him (and it sure looks like the otter pool at the zoo) he was a total surprise. They didn’t know that his mom was pregnant because she wasn’t supposed to be old enough to get pregnant. The zookeeper came in one morning and saw a baby otter in the pool with mom and dad.

Meg, you’ve outdone yourself. As I watched this clip for the 3rd time, and added my own cooing to the plethora of melting voices on the clip, my teenage nephew came over to see what the big deal was. This clip reduced Mr. “I’m too old for hugs” to a quiet “that’s so cute.” Well done Meg, well done.

Remember when Jacques Cousteau, on one of his famous Calypso treks, corraled a pair of otters on the shipboard pool? They were so scared, they held each other in a tight hug. Oh yes, they did. I remember it like it was yesterday. When he and his crew saw them, their hearts were instantly dissolved. They devised instead a net across a small inlet and released the pair there and could still be observed naturally. So to see yet more evidence of their affection, totally unsurprisingly, memorialized forever I will hope, did make me remember that other couple, comforting each other, better than even humans can sometimes manage. My only wish that the observers had stopped babbling so loudly, which kept waking them up.

AAAHHH!!! These are our Vancouver sea otters!! I’ve seen these guys before! They were a lot more active when I was there, though…lol.

Here’s a link for the poster above that explains the difference between sea and river otters – I don’t believe there are any river otters there now. It also tells about the otters living at the Vancouver Aquarium – names history etc…I wonder which ones these guys are…

Couldn’t help but think of this song, by Smokey Robinson. Geez, come to think of it, a LOT of Smokey songs fit this.
LOVE THE OTTERS!!!!!

“Baby tonite
Belongs to us
Everything right Do what you must
And inch by inch we grow closer and closer
To every lil part of each other
Oooh baby yeah
Sooo
Let the music take your mind
Just release and you will find

You’re gonna fly away
Glad you’re goin’ my way
I love it when we’re cruisin’ together
Music is played for love
Cruisin’ is made for love
I love it when we’re cruisin’ together”

Maybe no-one else is reading about otters by now, but I have to tell fellow CO addicts that yesterday I rescued an orphaned baby otter! Don’t worry, I made sure as I could that it didn’t have a mum around before I took it in. Found it lost and a long way from the river, on the grass outside my house in the Scottish highlands, took advice from an otter sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and managed to catch it and rehydrate it with a pipette and keep it warm until the animal sanctuary people arrived to collect it. What a privilege to look after a wild animal: the memory of a baby otter sucking hungrily on a baby’s bottle on my lap will stay with me for ever. Phoned the sanctuary this morning and they said it’s doing really well and will be transferred to Skye next week, where I hope it will live happily ever after.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when they grabbed hands (whoops, ‘paws’) for a second time after letting go!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, can’t say this enough, cutest thing i’ve ever ever ever ever ever seen!!!!! Please someone direct me to the nearest otter adoption agency so i can have them all for my own!!!

That is just the sweetest cutest thing ever! I swear I say that every time something new is posted lol.
But when the darker otter goes back and holds hands again.. OMG the cuteness was definitely on overload!

omg, that was the cutest thing ever, EVER. i especially liked how the one that was awake floated BACK to the sleeping one to GRAB ITS PAW AGAIN so they could float around together again. totally classic

so, i looked it up, and apprently this is quite common with sea otters. it’s called “rafting” and otters do it, i suppose, for protection when they are resting. i found a few pictures of big GROUPS of fluffy, wet, sleepy, otters holding hands. *heaven*

This is the song that came up on my iPod as I watched this video (my computer is muted):

Goodnight my angel time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you’ve been asking me
I think you know what I’ve been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away

Goodnight my angel now it’s time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I’m rocking you to sleep
The water’s dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You’ll always be a part of me

Goodnight my angel now it’s time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me

Someday we’ll all be gone
But lullabyes go on and on
They never die
that’s how and I will be

believe it or not peeps i’ve seen this before!!! Somewhere on Animal Planet…an abandoned baby was rescued and brought to an aquaruim (in FLA maybe?) where they had a momma otter who’s baby had died…they put them together and re-dunk-u-lous hand holding cuteness…i’m choking up again just thinkin about it! Thanks for the video!

Here we go again; People trying to apply human attributes to animals. The “paws” (not hands) thing is simply a matter of mechanics. One person was close when they called it “rafting”. Putting their “paws” together keeps them from rolling over while they are floating. Otherwise they would have to use their feet and tail to keep from listing (tipping over) in the water. When they are “rafting” they can relax and sit still in the water. Cute maybe, but not love.

OK, Mike. Thanks for the fact, but keep thrashing folks. Then get off the cuteoverload. Most of us go on here just to get cute addiction fix. Those otters does made my day after crappy day at work where most of us get scapegoat.

(FYI — If you post something and then find yourself being immediately defensive of it, there’s probably something wrong with one or more of: you, the post, the circumstances under which it was posted).

(Personally…I think animals can have plenty of human-like characteristics. Anybody see Planet Earth this past Sunday on Discovery? When all those animals were racing towards that delta in Africa? And the baboons [I think they were baboons….might be wrong] were wading in the water and they were walking upright? The way they were picking their way through the water looked VERY human…they were like “Eeew, eeww…it’s cold!”)

Anyway. Okay…allergies acting up, coughing and sneezing at same time (amazing that you can do both at once)…and pregnant. Must go to bathroom.

You said it well enough, pyrit. But all right. Friends, Romans, countrymen…lend me your ears!…..look not only at the fantastic footage of Planet Earth (narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver), but look deep! There are still places left (though perhaps not readily accessible to humans) that are untouched….let’s keep it that way!

Anyhoo….

Did you see all 3 episodes of it? I confess I fell asleep during the last one, the ocean. I saw some of it…and it’s not that it wasn’t interesting, just past my bedtime. Those deep sea critters are pretty bizarre looking…and that “snow”? Yick. I wouldn’t want to make a snowman of that stuff.

Aww MAN!!!! Absolutely the cutest things EVER!!!
Hand holding, is that a cute rule yet?
Paw KISSING!!!!! HAS to be a cute rule!!!
And I too failed the AWWWW test, I did manage to hold out till the regrab, but at that point I just couldnt anymore.
AWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

*POOF* (head dissappears in a cloud of fairy dust)

Ok, and the baby duck feeding the koi was just amazing, WAY cute!!!
I can hear him now, “You want some food priddy fishy? Ok, here ya go! Oh you want some too? Ok, here ya go! You too huh? Ok, here ya go! And you as well? Ok, here ya go…..”

“anthropomorphic” – Assignation of human emotions to animals.

Did I get it right Mike?

Of course the definition implies that animals dont have emotions, which has been proven to be patently untrue.

A test was recently done on Bonobos, a species of ape closely related to chimpanzees.
The test was comprised of two Bonobos, one in an enclosure where it could get food by pressing on a lever, the other in an attached enclosure where it would recieve an electric shock when the first one pressed the lever to get food.

The first Bonobo, upon realizing that when it pressed the lever the other Bonobo got shocked, refused to press the lever again and starved itself practically to death so the other would not be harmed.

There are many other examples of animals displaying emotion, and while rafting may be one explaination for the behavior in this film, love and caring is also a viable explaination, but one does not negate the other, it is entirely probable that both explainations are true and occur together in this amazing footage.

Cracks me up when people announce themselves to have some ‘insider’ knowledge of what animals can, or canNOT feel. (“lol they don’t have the same feelings as humans!” uh – ok.) Yes, I was an otter in this -just past – previous life; I remember EVERYthing, and I can state – unequivocably – that I did not feel any thing. Nada. Nothing. There you have it: quit thinking otters are SO cute “’cause they love each other”. They don’t. “I” know.

I think those might be the ATL otters! When I went to the Aquarium, the female was sleeping on her back in the middle of the tank (sucking her paw), and the male was playing in the shallows. He eventually swam over to the female, grabbed her, and dragged her over to the shallows. She woke up, gave him the evil eye, and swam back to where she had been, and resumed sucking her paw.

They seemed to be floating along just fine with no effort at all even when they weren’t linked at the hands. So I have trouble believing that they need to be holding hands in order to float effortlessly. I don’t think humans have the market cornered on needing others for comfort.

Also I’d like to add, phhhhbbbt. Just let people enjoy something cute. So what if we are anthropomorphizing them. It’s a video. We aren’t dressing them up and making them have tea parties in our back yard.

Maddy – I think you’re right about the rafting. My understanding is that it’s used more to prevent otters from drifting far away from each other when they are sleeping out at sea rather than a balance issue.

Four limbs, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, pain receptors, ability to learn, ability to feel fear. What does any of that have to do with humans? ;)
Besides, otters are just flat out cuter than any hundred flabby humans.

Thanks Pscaley! Maybe someday I will go see them in person. And if you’re ever in Atlanta, check out the ones at the aquarium — the female sucks her paw when she’s sleeping. It’s pretty redonkulously cute.

katherine – I can’t WAIT to see Atlanta’s aquarium!! I was at a conference last year in Chattanooga & didn’t realize how close Atlanta was – I missed my chance, but will be back this July.

Carrie – You’re right: the blonder an otter is (in general) the older they are. The oldest one there – Nyac – is my absolute favourite. She’s been a surrogate “mommy” to many an abandoned otter pup at the Aquarium – teaching them how to be otters and being all patient. She’s so sweet!

Dave, indeed, and some humans are lucky enough to not qualify their compassion and empathy based on the outer 3%. And with all due respect, determining what or who is cute is not entirely subjective, some of it is hard-wired.
But, honestly, who cares? Those otters are certifiably cuter than cute and you know it.
Some people think you’re cute, eh? I’ll be the judge of that. :P;)

Those are indeed Milo (dark hair – age 7 1/2) and Nyac (age 18), 2 of our 4 Sea Otters at the Vancouver Aquarium and the are definetly my favorites. I have the ooprtunity to watch them after ours as they sleep rafting and it sure makes the world a little bit more bearable.

I thought that was Nyac at first glance too. She is such a sweetie, though very very mischeivious :P I dont acutally believe that Milo and Nyac are a couple. Sea Otters form rafts when they sleep to keep from floating away from each other. In the wild they will do this to stay in a group and with their young. The sea otter on the edge will tie him or herself to a piece of kelp that is attached to the ocean floor to keep the whole raft from floating away with the current over night. There are other male sea otters at VanAqua too but they cannot have more than one male in the tank at once in case of dominance fights. She will perform the same behaviour with the other sea otters too.

is it just me going mad, or near to the end of the video (maybe at about 5 seconds left) there is a voice laughing like ‘oo hoo hoo hoo’ in like… a spanish accent. It sounds exactly like my uncles mum o.O now THAT is creepy. Maybe it was. I don’t know.

It’s too bad all of these people who supposedly die as a result of being too puerile and superficial don’t actually do so. It would make for some lovely gene pool manipulation. Congratulations to all those who use ‘anthropomorphizing’ in a sentence; have you any other undergraduate trophies you took from your undergrad Communications courses? Interestingly enough, these animals are somewhat laconic when expressing emotion: the two basic functions they understand are how to eat and how to reproduce. Go figure. That’s why they’re in the cages, and you are outside, degrading our race by trying to impose our principles on them. Go find a boyfriend.

I love Nyac and Milo. I’m so lucky to get to go to Vanaqua every week.

Anywho, CuteOverload is supposed to be for positive energy. I certainly use it to cheer my day up if I need it. I can totally understand the rafting concept and not antrhopomorphize the otters – but even if you take away the superimposing of human characteristics, these otters and their behaviour is effing cute to the max anyway!!

We don’t have otters here in Victoria where i live (i haven’t seen any) but those to looked sooo cute .. another of God’s creatures..i have watched that more than once i just can’t get over those two holding hands,..,,March 5th 11-13AM Australia

So that was ridiculous. I’m watching, and its waaayy cute, but the ladies voices in the background are bugging me, so I’m thinking, “I get the gist… cute, handholding otters, yay…” and I’m readying to stop the vid and keep browsing, but suddenly they break apart… and so I had to see what was going to happen… and I TOTALLY YELLED “Oh! My! God!” Out loud to no one, as I am the only human home right now.

Oh my, oh my, oh my! This is like the 6th time I’ve seen this video and I still think that IT IS THE CUTEST THING ON OUR PLANET OF EARTH! Ever.
I mean, a little otter holding a little otter’s hand and oh! I just can’t describe how cute it is! You know.. it should so be a rule of cuteness. What do you think?